You know… I’ve taken a hiatus from blogging…
Turns out, I’ve had to live my life a bit – away from my computer. It’s been a nice distraction 
Spent a whole weekend away (OK… maybe it was just 24 hours of the weekend…) But, nonetheless… it was time to get away.
Got me thinking really… about camping. About getting back to nature… You see, as a geologist, I’ve done my fair share of sleeping in a tent (or just sleeping on the ground for that matter). And I miss the heck out of it.
In grad school, I had ~3 summers away, camping out in my field area of southwestern Wyoming… and occasionally visiting my husband’s field area in the sub-alpine meadows of the Uinta Mountains…
In grad school (and 1 month before my wedding), I had 2 weeks camping in the Grand Canyon. 2 weeks of using the natural facilities… 2 weeks of watching a district attorney from Manhattan and an assistant producer to the Conan O’Brien show camp out (for their very first time ever) in the Grand Canyon. This was a luxury for a grad student… and an incredible luxury for a Geology grad student. When we got home to our apartment in Madison – I swear I wanted to pitch a tent in the backyard and pee in the garden….
You know what? I’ve forgotten how to live like I was in grad school. And you know what? It’s so nice to realize that I’m in complete control of my life… My husband – who makes a fine living as a geologist – makes it his job to get out in the field. And myself – who is my own boss… can decide to do the same.
We went camping last weekend – at Point Beach State Forest. It was Clayton’s first time sleeping in a tent. We learned a few things that night.
- We took 2 tents. Next time, we’ll just take 1. Forget about kids tent and parents tent. When you’re camping with kids – it’s dogpile time. They made it half the night on their own before they woke up and realized that they had no idea where they were and where mom and dad were. Easiest to cram 4 people into that 3 person tent than to try to have mom and dad time on a camping trip.
- Remote good. Clayton is loud… he apparently really likes the outdoors, and he expresses his happiness via his lungs. I think that we’ll have a great time camping this summer – off the beaten path!
- Kids + headlamps = blindness. You can’t teach a kid headlamp etiquette overnight… these things must be learned in time.
We have many more lessons to (re)learn…
Our last family camping trip was 4.5 years ago. Here’s Claudia camping at 1.5 years old…
This is wrong. We must rectify this…. we must remove ourselves voluntarily from the tethered e-planet that we’ve moved into. Last weekend was our first step. I’m proud of us.
For people who love nature so much, it’s a shame that we spend most of our waking hours inside… Here’s what happens when we venture out…
Good stuff… better than leather couches and tv, that’s for sure.
Happy camping!
Thank you for the reminder. Marwan gets his field time…but we haven’t yet camped with Matia. Time to quit building houses, and focus on spending time together…
Amen, Meredith! It seems that after school is out for good we forget to get ourselves into the outdoors, unless our jobs require it. We park ourselves behind a computer day after day, for work and also pleasure, rather than remember our love of the outdoors and sleeping under the stars (or under a thin sheet of nylon under the stars). Glad Team Carson made it out and that Clayton camped for the first time. Beautiful photos, makes me want to get outside too.
Awesome and inspirational! Very well said and a good reminder for all of us.
Great post, and a good reminder. I love the pic of your son walking in the sand.
Yes Erin – time to start building little temporary houses!
Thanks Kuwanna! Abby’s the perfect age to introduce her to it…
Thank you Shiloe! Our next step is to actually go out to the farmer’s market today – instead of waiting for the veggies to come to us
Jayne – that stick came home with us – Clayton dragged it all over the beach, so happy that he was leaving his mark on the place… he’s such a permanent photo op that guy… Thanks for the kind words!
Most importantly when camping with kids, make sure your expectations are set appropriately! And be prepared for some dirty kiddos!
Mert – Remember how dirty Kaia and Claudia were on that first camping trip?!?! Ahh…good memories!
Yep – I remember Jen, I was just looking through those photos… that was fun!
What a cool post. I haven’t been camping for a couple years. I need to go!
This is encouraging. My friend and I have been talking about taking her girls and my nephew camping soon. Having never camped with children, I have no idea what to expect. However I’m encouraged by your success… AND your advice. Love your pics…
Thanks Melody! It’s great fun to camp with kids… since our ‘practice’ trip to Point Beach we’ve done an awesome (yet – insane) road trip to points West of here. 3 weeks, 5500 miles, and at least one week under the stars… I’ll have to chronicle it some time… Thanks for you comment!